Breathless
by yukikittycatofwisdom
Summary: "Focus on breathing. Just-..." My back went rigid as large fingers threaded themselves through my hair to the back of my neck. Leorio gave a weak tug and I slowly turned to meet his gaze. My eyes were filled with a horrifying wetness, and I was sure he knew. - "I've never been very good at that around you." - Leopika sorta - Character death


_Yuuki: : alskdfjskdf ok, so I only wrote this because I read this fic about the 1000 paper crane legend and AH IT MADE ME CRY even though I saw the ending coming like two sentences in...whimper Kibum was so amazing whimper...but actually it has nothing to do with this oneshot. It just made me want to write something angsty. Plus I have writer's block...sob_

_Proofread very roughly *bows* sorry~ But it's just a drabble-like thing and I'm lazy_

**Breathless**

"Is this really necessary?"

Killua's gaze was hard as he held out the blindfold, stance mistrusting and ready to jump at a moment's notice. He was taller than the last time I saw him, and so he easily held my stare without having to look up. "I don't know, is it?"

Glancing over his shoulder, I saw Gon standing at the other end of the hallway. His expression wasn't cold or icy like Killua's, but the wariness was clearly there. With an irritated sigh, I dropped my bag to the side, grabbing the blindfold and tying it around my head.

I'd barely gotten it secured when hands were on my arm. Killua lead me towards Gon and then through the halls and elevators of the building. Not a word was spoken as we walked, and it wasn't until a good ten minutes later that Gon whispered a soft, "We're here."

I blinked a few times as the cloth was removed from my eyes, quickly clearing my vision just before the door was shut behind us. Gon and Killua had already retreated to the side of the room by the time I spotted the lump curled in the bed. Two sets of eyes were trained on my every move, and I tried to ignore them as I peeled back the blankets.

"Leorio..."

Bandages were roughly wrapped around his otherwise bare chest. There was blood already soaking through, staining the bed sheets that fell from my fingers as I stared at the beat up body of what was once my best friend. The dim lighting cast an eerie glow over the dark bruises and swelling, and I'd seen a lot of blood and gore much worse than this in my lifetime.

Within seconds, I was on my knees and removing sticky bandages that reeked of dry blood. One glance and it was obvious that infection had already started settling in. It wasn't too late, though. It wasn't too late because this was Leorio, so it just _couldn't_ be.

"But...you're a doctor...How could...?" It wasn't my voice coming from my throat, so I let the sentence die off before it was properly started. Leorio turned his head towards me then. His lips twisted upwards just slightly. It must have been painful with the split lip trying to heal, but he didn't wince.

"I didn't think you'd actually come..."

"Stop talking." I kept my eyes locked on his chest as I worked at cleaning out the wounds. Gon stepped up beside me for a moment, handing me some fresh bandages and a wet cloth. He quickly scurried back to Killua as soon as I had a hold of them.

"You didn't come last time...You know, when Gon was in the hospital." Leorio's voice was raspy, and quickly becoming breathless. But the words just continued spilling from his mouth, as if he was afraid he wouldn't be able to say everything he wanted to say. And there must have been a lot, because it just wouldn't _stop_. "Do you still have your phone? You haven't answered in...a long time."

His breath was against my ear as I leaned over him to put the new bandages on. "Shut up."

"I'm glad...you came though..." The words were nothing more than a wheeze by that point. His heart was beating wildly underneath my hand.

"Focus on breathing. Just-..." My back went rigid as large fingers threaded themselves through my hair to the back of my neck. Leorio gave a weak tug and I slowly turned to meet his gaze. My own eyes were filled with a horrifying wetness, and I was sure he knew.

There were wrinkles and stress lines that were never there before. His hair had grown just a bit longer, like he'd missed out on more than one haircut in the last few months.

"I've never been very good at that around you." He must have gotten that right out of a cheesy pickup line book. I would have smacked him for it if he'd said it all those years ago. But now, my breath hitched and those damned tears were threatening to make an appearance soon.

"S-shut-" My voice broke, and in the next moment Leorio pulled my face against his neck. I should have tried to pull away, but my only attempt at escape was to bring my arms around his shoulders.

I knew I was light because it was rare if I even ate a full meal every other day. Even so, the weight of another body must have been irritating the gashes all along his chest and stomach. He didn't show any signs of it, however, and I wanted to believe that his pain didn't exist.

His lips against my hair tried to murmur more words, but his vocal chords were no longer up to the challenge of forming anything coherent. The whisper of Leorio's breath somehow lulled me to sleep. By the time I woke up, everything was colder than it had been before. I was alone in the room, with the door only slightly open. Sitting up, I ignored the blood now decorating my clothes, and touched the hand still tangled in my hair.

"Leorio?"

He didn't say another word.

END


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